Singer, songwriter Brandi Carlile is having a pretty great summer so far. Not only did her latest album Bear Creek drop on June 5, but she’s now engaged to marry her girlfriend Catherine Shepherd, AfterEllen reports.

Carlile announced the engagement via a letter she sent to Again Today, a Brandi Carlile fansite.

“…My biggest news ever is that I got engaged!!!!!! I realize the Seattle Times beat us to the punch but its cool that they care! In these times and on the eve of Referendum 74 (a vote on gay marriage in Washington State) it's really important for me to help raise awareness around marriage equality so I'm stoked that they took an interest,” Carlile wrote to her fans.

"The Story" singer went on to write that she and her fiancée have been doing a great deal of philanthropic work together, which is no big surprise as Carlile says they met when Shepherd was working as a charity coordinator for Paul McCartney. Together, Carlile and Shepherd are working on The Looking Out Foundation, the charity Carlile founded in 2008 that seeks to, “support, through music, humanitarian outreach efforts in local communities and beyond.”